Wandering is a town located in the Wheatbelt region of

Western Australia Western Australia (WA) is the westernmost state of Australia. It is bounded by the Indian Ocean to the north and west, the Southern Ocean to the south, the Northern Territory to the north-east, and South Australia to the south-east. Western Aust ...

, approximately from the state capital,

Perth Perth () is the list of Australian capital cities, capital city of Western Australia. It is the list of cities in Australia by population, fourth-most-populous city in Australia, with a population of over 2.3 million within Greater Perth . The ...

, just off the Albany Highway. It is the main town in the Shire of Wandering. At the , Wandering had a population of 294.

History

The area's name appears to come from a local Aboriginal word, "wandooin", after the wandoo or white gum tree that is prevalent in the area, although some sources suggest it was named to recall the first sighting of wandering stock, and was originally applied to Wandering Brook, first recorded in 1866. Wandering was first settled in 1859 by members of the George Stedman Watts family when their straying wagon team horses were found grazing in lush grass around a fresh water spring known to this day as Horse Well. In 1861, they selected an area on what is now the south-eastern approach to the town, and named it "Grassdale". The property was owned by the Watts family until being purchased recently by another local farmer. A road board (later to become the

Shire Council Shire () is a traditional term for an administrative division of land in Great Britain and some other English-speaking countries. It is generally synonymous with county (such as Cheshire and Worcestershire). British counties are among the ol ...

) was convened in 1874 within slightly different boundaries to the present day. By 1877, there was sufficient population in the area for the government to set aside land for a school. In 1911–12, the government surveyed a number of lots and then gazetted the townsite of Wandering. However, the decision two decades earlier to build the

railway Rail transport (also known as train transport) is a means of transport using wheeled vehicles running in railway track, tracks, which usually consist of two parallel steel railway track, rails. Rail transport is one of the two primary means of ...

some distance to the east restricted the town's growth. Also, fresh water was not readily available – the town was reliant on two Water Corporation dams until scheme water was extended here in 1997. Subsequently, rural residential subdivisions in the area on lots have been developed. From 1944 to 1977, the Wandering Mission, also known as St Francis Xavier Mission, was operated as a home for Aboriginal children by the Pallottine Fathers. A recollection of growing up in the mission is in Glenyse Ward's autobiography, ''Wandering Girl'' (Magabala Books, Broome, 1988). The mission was later the subject of a number of sexual abuse claims.Catholic Church schools and homes with the most child abuse claims revealed
ABC News. Australia. 16 February 2017.

Present day

Wandering is primarily an agricultural region, which produces hay, cereal crops, pulse crops (such as

lupin ''Lupinus'', commonly known as lupin, lupine, or regionally bluebonnet, is a genus of plants in the legume family Fabaceae. The genus includes over 199 species, with centres of diversity in North and South America. Smaller centres occur in No ...

s), oil seed (

canola file:CanolaBlooms.JPG, Close-up of canola blooms file:Canola Flower.jpg, Canola flower Rapeseed oil is one of the oldest known vegetable oils. There are both Edible oil, edible and industrial forms produced from rapeseed, the seed of several ...

), wool, lamb and beef. Timber milling and

viticulture Viticulture (, "vine-growing"), viniculture (, "wine-growing"), or winegrowing is the cultivation and harvesting of grapes. It is a branch of the science of horticulture. While the native territory of ''Vitis vinifera'', the common grape vine ...

are also practised. The town's school (K-7) still operates with mixed-grade classes, and accommodation is offered at a caravan park with powered sites. The original Agricultural Hall (1896) now hosts a

telecentre A telecentre is a public place where people can access computers, the Internet, and other digital technologies that enable them to gather information, create, learn, and communicate with others while they develop essential digital skills. Telecent ...

for the use of the town's residents, and a nearby hall hosts local community groups and clubs.

Climate

Wandering has a

Mediterranean climate A Mediterranean climate ( ), also called a dry summer climate, described by Köppen and Trewartha as ''Cs'', is a temperate climate type that occurs in the lower mid-latitudes (normally 30 to 44 north and south latitude). Such climates typic ...

with hot dry summers and cool, damp winters. In winter, it is one of the coldest towns in

, commonly recording temperatures below .

References

External links

Shire of Wandering
{{authority control Towns in Western Australia Shire of Wandering Grain receival points of Western Australia